Allah prescribed Hajj
once in a lifetime upon the Muslims who have the means
and are physically able to perform it. There are three
types of Hajj: Hajj at-Tamattu', Hajj al-Qiran and Hajj
alIf rad. In this article, we will explain the procedure
for Hajj Al-Tamatt'u as it is the most recommended one.

In this type, one is to
perform 'Umrah during the Hajj months (i.e. Shawwal,
Thul-Qe'dah and the first ten nights of Thul-Hijjah) and
to perform the Hajj in the same year with a sacrifice
slaughtered in Mina on the day of Eid AlAdh'ha (The 10th
day of Thul-Hijjah) or during the days of Tashreeq (i.e.
the 11th, 12th and 13th day of Thul-Hijjah). The pilgrim
may remove his Ihram garments and resume his normal
activities between 'Umrah and Hajj. It is necessary to
make the Tawaf and the Sa'i twice, the first time for
'Umrah and the second time for Hajj. We describe in the
following the sequence of the Hajj journey.

Ihram

Ihram is the intention
of the person willing to perform all rites of 'Umrah,
Hajj or both when he arrives at the Miqat. Each direction
coming into Makkah has its own Miqat. It is recommended
that the one who intends to perform Hajj makes Ghusl (a
shower with the intention to purify one's self), perfumes
his body, but not his garments, and puts on a two piece
garment with no headgear. The garments should be of
seamless cloth. One piece to cover the upper part of the
body, and the second to cover the lower part. For a woman
the Ihram is the same except that she should not use
perfumes at all and her dress should cover the whole body
decently, leaving the hands and the face uncovered. The
pilgrim should say the intention according to the type of
Hajj. For Hajj Al-Tamatt'u one should say: "Labbayka Allahumma
'Umrah"
which means "O
Allah I answered Your call to perform 'Umrah". It is recommended to repeat
the well known supplication of Hajj, called Talbeyah, as
frequently as possible from the time of Ihram till the
time of the first stoning of Jamrat Al-Aqabah in Mina.
Men are recommended to utter the Talbeyah aloud while
women are to say it quietly. This Talbeyah is of the
form:

"Labbayka
Allahumma Labbayk. Labbayka La Shareeka Laka Labbayk.
Inna-alhamda Wan-ntimata Laka Walmulk. La Shareek
Lak."
(Here I am at your service. O my Lord, here I am. Here I
am. No partner do You have. Here I am. Truly, the praise
and the provisions are Yours, and so is the dominion. No
partner do You have.)

Performing 'Umrah

Tawaf:When a Muslim arrives to Makkah,
he should make Tawaf around the Ka'bah, as a gesture of
greeting A1Masjid Al-Haraam. This is done by circling the
Ka'bah seven times in the counterclockwise direction,
starting from the black stone with Takbeer and ending
each circle at the Black Stone with Takbeer, keeping the
Ka'bah to one's left. Then the pilgrim goes to Maqam
Ibrahim (Ibrahim's Station), and performs two rak'ah
behind it, close to it if possible, but away from the
path of the people making Tawaf. In all cases one should
be facing the Ka'bah when praying behind Maqam Ibrahim.

Sa'i: The next rite is to make Sa'i
between Safa and Marwah. The pilgrim starts Sa'i by
ascending the Safa. While facing the Ka'bah he praises
Allah, raises his hands and says Takbeer "Allah-u
Akbar" three times, then makes supplication to
Allah. Then the pilgrim descends from the Safa and heads
towards the Marwah. One should increase the pace between
the clearly marked green posts, but should walk at a
normal pace before and after them. When the pilgrim
reaches the Marwah, he should ascend it, praise Allah and
do as he did at the Safa. This is considered one round
and so is the other way from the Marwah to the Safa. A
total of seven rounds are required to perform the Sa'i.
After Sa'i, the Muslim ends his 'Umrah rites by shaving
his head or trimming his hair (women should cut a finger
tip's length from their hair). At this stage, the
prohibitions pertaining to the state of Ihram are lifted
and one can resume his normal life.

There are no required
formulas or supplications for Tawaf or for Sa'i. It is up
to the worshipper to praise Allah or to supplicate Him
with any acceptable supplication or to recite portions of
the Qur'an. Although it is recommended to recite the
supplications that the Prophet, salla Allah-u alaihe wa
salam, used to say during the performance of these rites.

It must be noted that
'Umrah can be performed by itself as described above at
any time of the year.

Going out to Mina
on the day of Tarwiah

A pilgrim performing
Hajj AlTamatt'u should intend Ihram, from the place where
he is staying, on the 8th day of Thul-Hijjah, which is
the Tarwiah Day, and leave to Mina in the morning. In
Mina, the pilgrims pray Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib and Isha of
the 8th day of ThulHijjah and Fajr of the 9th day of
ThulHijjah. Dhuhr, Asr and Isha are each shortened to two
Rak'ah only, but are not combined. The pilgrim remains in
Mina until sunrise of the 9th day of ThulHijjah and then
leaves to Arafat.

Departure to Arafat

On the 9th day of
Thul-Hijjah, the Day of Arafat, the pilgrims stay in
Arafat until sunset. The pilgrims pray Dhuhr and Asr at
Arafat, shortened and combined dur ing the time of Dhuhr
to save the rest of the day for glorifying Allah and for
supplication asking forgiveness. A pilgrim should make
sure that he is within the boundaries of Arafat, not
necessarily standing on the mountain of Arafat. The
Prophet salla Allah-u alaihe wa salam, said: "I stood here on this
rocky hill and all Arafat is a standing place" Muslim. One should keep
reciting Talbeyah, glorifying Allah the Greatest and
repeating supplication. It is also reported that the
Prophet, salla Allah-u alaihe wa salam, used to say the
following supplication: "There is no deity worthy of worship
except Allah, the One without a partner. The dominion and
the praise are His and He is powerful over
everything." Anas Ibn Malik was asked once how he and his
friends used to spend their time while walking from Mina
to Arafat in the company of the Prophet, salla Allah-u
alaihe wa salam. Anas said: "Some of us used to cry out Talbeyah,
others used to glorify Allah the Greatest and the rest
used to repeat prayers. Each one of us was free to
worship Allah in the way he likes without prejudice or
renunciation of his right." Bukhari.

In the vast square
plain of Arafat, tears are shed, sins are washed and
faults are redressed for those who ask Allah for
forgiveness and offer sincere repentance for their wrong
doings in the past. Happy is the person who receives the
Mercy and Pleasure of Allah on this particular day.

The departure from
Arafat

Soon after sunset on
the Day of Arafat, the pilgrims leave for Muzdalifah
quietly and reverently in compliance with the advice of
the Prophet, salla Allah-u alaihe wa salam, who said when
he noticed people walking without calmness: "O people! Be quiet,
hastening is not a sign of righteousness." Bukhari. In order to follow the
example of the Prophet, salla Allah-u alaihe wa salam, it
is preferable to keep reciting the Talbeyah, glorifying
Allah the Greatest and mentioning the name of Allah until
the time of stoning Jamrat Al-Aqabah (a stone pillar in
Mina). In Muzdalifah, the pilgrim performs Maghrib and
Isha prayers combined, shortening the Isha prayer to two
Rak'ah.Pilgrims stay overnight in Muzdalifah to perform
the Fajr prayer and wait until the brightness of the
morning is widespread before they leave to Mina passing
through the sacred Mash'ar valley.

Women and weak
individuals are allowed to proceed to Mina at any time
after midnight to avoid the crowd.

Stoning Jamrat
Al-Aqabah

When the pilgrims
arrive at Mina, they go to Jamrat Al-Aqabah where they
stone it with seven pebbles glorifying Allah
"Allah-u Akbar" at each throw and calling on
Him to accept their Hajj. The time of stoning Jamrat
Al-Aqabah is after sunrise. The Prophet, salla Allah-u
alaihe wa salam, threw the pebbles late in the morning
and permitted weak people to stone after leaving
Muzdalifah after midnight. The size of the pebbles should
not be more than that of a bean as described by the
Prophet, salla Allahu alaihe wa salam, who warned against
exaggeration. The pebbles can be picked up either in
Muzdalifah or in Mina.

Slaughter of
Sacrifice

After stoning Jamrat
Al-Aqabah, the pilgrim goes to slaughter his sacrifice
either personally or through the appointment of somebody
else to do it on his behalf. A pilgrim should slaughter
either a sheep, or share a cow or a camel with six
others.

Shaving the head or
trimming the hair

The final rite on the
tenth day after offering his sacrifice is to shave one' s
head or to cut some of the hair. Shaving the head is,
however, preferable for it was reported that the Prophet
prayed three times for those who shaved their heads, when
he said: "May Allah's Mercy be upon those who shaved
their heads." Bukhari and Muslim. For women, the
length of hair to be cut is that of a finger tip. The
stoning of Jamrat Al-Aqabah and the shaving of head or
trimming of hair symbolizes the end of the first phase of
the state of Ihram and the lifting of its restrictions
except for sexual intercourse with one's spouse. Stoning
Jamrat Al-Aqabah, slaughtering the sacrifice and shaving
the head or cutting part of the hair are preferred to be
in this order, as it is the order that the Prophet, salla
Allah-u alaihe wa salam, did them. However, if they are
done in any other order, there is no harm in that.

Tawaf Al-Ifadhah

Tawaf Al-Ifadhah is a
fundamental rite of Hajj. The pilgrim makes
Tawaf-AIIfadhah by visiting Al-Masjid AlHaraam and
circling the Ka'bah seven times and praying two Rak'ah
behind Maqam Ibrahim. Then the pilgrim should make Sa'i
between the Safa and the Marwah. After Tawaf Al-Ifadhah
the state of Ihram is completely ended and all
restrictions are lifted including sexual intercourse with
one's spouse.

Tawaf Al-Ifadhah can be
delayed until the days spent at Mina are over.

Return to Mina

The pilgrim should
return to Mina and spend there the days of Tashreeq (i.e.
the I I th, 1 2th and 1 3th day of Thul-Hijjah). l During
each day, and after Dhuhr prayer, | the pilgrim stones
the three stone pillars called "Jamarat": The
small, the medium and Jamrat Al-Aqabah, glorifying Allah
"Allah-u Akbar" with each throw of the seven
pebbles stoned at each pillar. These pebbles are picked
up in Mina. A l Pilgrim may leave Mina to Makkah on the
13th of Thul-Hijjah or on the 12th if he wishes, there is
no blame on him if he chooses the later, but he has to
leave before sunset.

Farewell Tawaf

Farewell Tawaf is the
final rite of Hajj. It is to make another Tawaf around
the Ka'bah. Ibn Abbas said: "The people were ordered to perform the
Tawaf around the Ka'bah as the last thing before leaving
Makkah, except the menstruating women who were
excused."
Bukhari.